BILLINGS — The Alliance of Curriculum Enhancement (ACE) hosted nearly 125 teachers who are in the first three years of their careers for a four-day training seminar in Billings that began on Monday.
“I'm, like, nervous and terrified, but in the absolute best way," said Emmie Baker, who will be teaching her first year of third grade at Blue Creek Elementary School.
There are currently 900 open positions across Montana's schools, defining the state's education labor shortage.
“We’ll come out (of this event) with plans, we’ll come out with kind of a road map for the first couple weeks," said David Mack, who will be teaching his third year of first grade at Blue Creek Elementary School.
ACE's teacher preparation comes after nearly 100,000 education professionals from across the United States quit in 2023, citing reasons of burnout, school violence, and stagnant salary.
“Just to meet and kind of grow that community and support system is really important," said Hailey Nebel, who will be teaching her first year of kindergarten at Lockwood Schools.
